Monro Inc. posted $283.6 million in sales during the second quarter of its fiscal year versus sales of $288.9 million during the same period last year.

Net loss for Monro's second quarter totaled $1.6 million versus net income of $5.7 million in the same period of the prior year.

Comparable store sales increased 8% for batteries and 3% for maintenance services compared to the prior-year period. 

Meanwhile, comparable store sales decreased 2% for alignments, 4% for tires and brakes and 5% for front/end shocks compared to the prior-year period. 

Monro reports that its gross margin decreased 50 basis points compared to the prior year period, "primarily from higher occupancy costs as a percentage of sales, which were partially off-set by lower material costs as a
percentage of sales."

Total operating expenses for the second quarter came to $97.4 million or 34.3% of sales, as compared to $90.4 million - or 31.3% of sales - in the prior-year period.

"The increase was primarily driven by a $6.1 million increase in store closing costs, net of gains (losses) on sales of closed stores; $3.4 million of higher costs at continuing locations, primarily front shop labor; $3.2 million of higher
marketing costs to support the company’s topline; $1.7 million of higher litigation reserve costs and $0.3 million of higher costs related to shareholder matters.

"These were partially off-set by $7.1 million of lower costs incurred in connection with consultants related to the company’s operational
improvement plan, $0.4 million of lower transition costs related to the company’s back-office optimization and $0.2 million of lower costs from the closure of 145 underperforming stores in the first quarter of fiscal 2026."

Monro's operating income for its fiscal second quarter totaled $2.6 million versus operating income of $12.8 million during the same period last year. 

During its fiscal second quarter, Monro closed one store and ended the period with 1,114 company-operated stores, plus 47 franchised locations.

Executive comments

"Our second quarter comparable store sales declined 1.8%, reflecting an operating environment which continued to challenge the full-service auto aftermarket," says Peter Fitzsimmons, Monro's president and CEO. 

"This was driven by lower store traffic, consumers that continued to defer higher-ticket spending decisions and traded-down to lower cost
alternatives in tires and our use of self-funded promotions to drive unit growth in our brake category.

"The effectiveness of our ConfiDrive courtesy inspection process helped us drive average repair order growth in the quarter and it was a key contributor to the comparable store sales gains we saw in batteries and maintenance services," he said.

"These results reinforce that Monro’s full-service model is a genuine competitive advantage and that when we execute it well, customers respond. The ability to identify a customer’s vehicle needs in real time, communicate them clearly and address them with quality and care is what distinguishes a full-service provider and our results in these categories reflect that strength.

"The traction we’re seeing from our District Manager Toolkit continues to build," says Fitzsimmons. "With the toolkit now deployed across a majority of our store network and our newly established operating efficiency team actively coaching and training in the field, we are seeing early but
meaningful bottom-line improvement in a subset of our locations.

"Importantly, we maintained our marketing investment during the quarter, even as sales fell short of where we wanted them to be."

Credit agreement

On Oct. 23, 2026, Monro entered into a new credit agreement with Ares Capital Corp. providing for $375.0 million in senior secured credit facilities, consisting of a $250 million term loan facility and a $125 million revolving credit facility, both maturing on Oct. 23, 2030, with fees commensurate with a private lending facility. 

Monro, which is based in Rochester, N.Y., came it at the No. 3 spot on the 2026 MTD 100, published this past July.